对外经济贸易大学国的际商法案例参考资料案例篇.doc

案例讨论1???????????????????????Lucy?et?al.?v.?Zehmer?et?al.???????????????????84?S.E.?(2d)?516,?196?Va.?493?(1954)???????Complainants?instituted?this?suit?to?have?specific?performance?of?a?contract?by?which?it?was?alleged?the?defendants?had?sold?to?W.O.?Lucy?for?$50,000?a?tract?of?land?known?as?the?Ferguson?farm,?owned?by?defendant?A.?H.?Zehmer.?J.?C.?Lucy,?the?other?complainant,?is?a?brother?of?W.?O.?Lucy,?to?whom?W.?O.?Lucy?transferred?a?half?interest?in?his?alleged?purchase.????????The?instrument?sought?to?be?enforced?was?written?by?A.?H.?Zehmer?on?December?20,?1952,?in?these?words:?“We?hereby?agree?to?sell?to?W.?O.?Lucy?the?Ferguson?farm?for?$50,000,?title?satisfactory?to?buyer,”?signed?by?both?defendants.????????The?answer?of?A.?H.?Zehmer?admitted?that?at?the?time?mentioned?W.O.?Lucy?offered?him?$50,000?cash?for?the?farm?but?that?he?(Zehmer)?considered?that?the?offer?was?made?in?jest;?that?so?thinking,?and?both?he?and?Lucy?having?had?several?drinks,?he?wrote?out?the?“memorandum”?quoted?above?and?induced?his?wife?to?sign?it;?that?he?did?not?deliver?the?memorandum?to?Lucy,?but?Lucy?picked?it?up,?read?it,?put?it?in?his?pocket,?and?attempted?to?offer?him?$5.00?to?bind?the?bargain;?that?he?refused?to?accept,?and,?realizing?for?the?first?time?that?Lucy?was?serious,?assured?him?that?he?had?no?intention?of?selling?the?farm,?and?that?he?whole?matter?was?a?joke.?Lucy?left?the?premises?insisting?that?he?had?purchased?the?farm.????????On?Monday,?December?22nd,?Lucy?engaged?an?attorney?to?examine?the?title.?The?attorney?reported?favorably?on?December?31st,?and?on?January?2nd?Lucy?wrote?to?Zehmer?stating?that?the?title?was?satisfactory?and?that?he?was?ready?to?pay?the?purchase?price?in?cash,?and?asking?when?Zehmer?would?be?ready?to?close?the?deal.?Zehmer?replied?by?letter?asserting?that?he?had?never?agreed?or?intended?to?sell?the?farm.?Thereupon?complainants?brought?this?suit.?The?issue?is?whether?the?agreement?was?entered?into?with?contractual?intent?or?was?merely?a?joke